Spring 2027

Hormones, Brain, and Behavior

Examines how hormones and neurotransmitters shape brain and behavior in animals and humans, covering sex differences, sexual behavior, stress, and epigenetics.

offering recorded4 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Anthony Auger4.0/5Catherine Marler3.4/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Anthony Auger, Catherine Marler

Students reported that the course involved heavy memorization and substantial course materials. While one student noted three major exams, others described Auger’s tests as fair and easy, whereas Marler’s exams were criticized for covering very specific details.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Describe sex differences in structure and function of the brain.

  • Summarize how early exposure to hormones shapes lasting differences in the brain.

  • Describe how sex differences contribute to risk for mental health disorders.

  • Discuss why some individuals express different types of social behavior.

  • Discuss how hormones influence how much we eat.

  • Differentiate how hormones shape juvenile and adult behavior.

  • Explain how endocrine disruptors can influence health.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
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F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

PSYCH 406, 413, 414, 449, 450, 454, or ZOOLOGY/​PSYCH 523

PSYCH 513

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

Anthony Auger

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.50/5 from 14 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.1/5 raw quality · 2.4/5 difficulty · 7 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Anthony Auger

Anthony Auger taught this course with three exams, each worth 25% of the grade. Students noted that the material was heavily biological and required significant memorization, but Auger often ended lectures early and provided helpful review videos to manage the workload.

Feedback on Auger’s teaching was mixed. Some students found his lectures engaging and supported by evidence, while others felt he made bold claims with little support and spent excessive time on disclaimers regarding sensitive topics.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.28 GPA, 60.7% A/AB (n=145 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.47 GPA, 72.3% A/AB (n=173 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.42 GPA, 69.7% A/AB (n=175 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.15/5 from 20 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 2.0/5 raw quality · 4.5/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Catherine Marler

Catherine Marler's lectures were described as dense and boring, with exams that tested very specific details like statistical data from single graph slides. One student found the exams unfair and recommended the course only for neurobiology majors, while another felt Marler’s lecture outlines were confusing and that she fell short compared to the other lecturer.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.28 GPA, 60.7% A/AB (n=145 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.47 GPA, 72.3% A/AB (n=173 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.42 GPA, 69.7% A/AB (n=175 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ANTHONY P AUGER is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CATHERINE MARLER is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1590
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 306Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 307Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 308Classroom Instruction0 / 180
DIS 309Classroom Instruction0 / 150

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Anthony Auger

Anthony Auger’s lectures were often described as organized, engaging, and clear. Students appreciated his caring demeanor and found the topics interesting, noting that he helped break down complex biological concepts effectively.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.28 GPA, 60.7% A/AB (n=145 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.47 GPA, 72.3% A/AB (n=173 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.42 GPA, 69.7% A/AB (n=175 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Anthony Auger, Catherine Marler

Students reported that the course involved heavy memorization and substantial course materials. While one student noted three major exams, others described Auger’s tests as fair and easy, whereas Marler’s exams were criticized for covering very specific details.

Past student reviews · Anthony Auger, Catherine Marler

Some students felt lectures could be politically charged or lacking in evidence, particularly under Auger. Others found Marler's teaching style boring and dense, noting that her lecture outlines were confusing rather than helpful.

Topics

  • Brain sex differences and their behavioral consequences.
  • Hormonal influences on sexual behavior and sexual orientation.
  • Competitive behavior, eating disorders, and stress-related mental health.
  • Individual variation, environmental responses, and introductory epigenetics.

Skills

  • Describing brain sex differences and summarizing hormonal effects on brain development.
  • Analyzing links between sex differences, mental health risks, and eating behaviors.

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

5 earlier forecasts · 0.13 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
PSYCH 513 · Spring 2027

Hormones, Brain, and Behavior

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:820:024710",
    "course_id": "PSYCH 513",
    "course_uid": "course_f19a5353bd9546e002b5f73e",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "024710",
    "source_subject_id": "820",
    "title": "Hormones, Brain, and Behavior",
    "credits_min": 4,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "a595ab45c9a0d913d97e7ddba8c581f01ca3480b9280b86ce3ade52e4725caea",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}